Lonely too long
by Laurie-Lee
Summary: Noah comes to term with his feelings for his friend as he greets the morning at her side. One-shot fic....


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Lonely too long

By: Laurie-Lee

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Summary: Sets 4 years from now. Noah comes to term with his feelings for his friend as he greets the morning at her side. One-shot fic....

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Note: In this, Ethan Martin does not exist and Ethan had chosen Theresa instead of Gwen the second time around. Oh and Sam Bennett had never been Ethan's father. Instead, Ivy had been raped but still kept the baby.

Dawn on Harmony.

Noah Bennett slipped his shirt over his head and watched as the sun rose. He blinked at the brightness of a new day. The memories of the night before were a jumble in his brain. He wanted to banish the images from his thoughts but at the same time, he wanted to grab each memory and never let them go.

Running his fingers back through his hair, he turned and started walking back to where he'd made an improvised bed quickly the night before. Where _they_ had made love. He noticed the sheets he'd brought in case they would spend the night on the beach. One was still intact while another one was twisted at his feet.

Noah gazed down at the small form still wrapped in satin sheets. They rose and fell with the steady breathing of its occupant.

"Oh Theresa !" he whispered "What have I done?"

**__**

Well, good morning

Tell me how'd you sleep last night

You're still smiling

So we must've done something right

Don't feel guilty

Because you turned to me last night

He turned away and squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't look at her and not remember. He could still smell her. Try as he might, he could not make himself not recognize it. It was in the air around their improvised bed. It was on him. She smelled like the flowers that she spent her days taking care of ever since her husband had died..

He tightened his fists until his hands shook. Until his body shook with the strain. But images still danced behind his closed eyes.

He saw Theresa laughing at something he'd said while doing the bed.

He saw her thank him again for agreeing to spend the evening on the beach in order to catch up.

He heard her ask about the other side of the ocean, where he was all those years and why he'd came back.

He heard her ask if there was anyone that he missed more than anyone else.

He heard himself reply that he'd missed her like crazy.

**__**

We ain't done nothin' wrong

We've just been lonely too long

No, we ain't done nothin' wrong

We've just been lonely too long

Ashes smoldered in the circle of smooth stones. Noah stepped over the spot that had held the fire the night before.

It had been a colder, moonfull night than what he was used to.

Theresa had shivered and then moved a little closer to the blaze. He'd removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. He had lost his fear of cold nights a long time ago, when he'd left Harmony right after she'd become Ethan's wife. She'd looked at the jacket and asked if he wouldn't need it.

"I never had one while I was away." he had said without thinking. "I won't need one now. Besides, this is nothing compared to the nights in Finland."

She had tipped her head at that. Her eyelids lowered with compassion. She asked again who he'd missed more than anyone else.

Noah looked back to the rising sun. Why had he answered her?

The night before, he knew that if he ever touched her, he would never leave Harmony again and fullfil the promise he'd made on Isabelle's grave. He knew and he still moved to sit next to her. Slowly, his late wife's ghosts appeared in front of him.

**__**

It's only natural

When you've been too long in the dark

To look for comfort

And to warm yourself by the fire

We're just afraid

That we might get our fingers burned

"Of all the things I said..." he whispered, running his fingers back through his hair again "...I didn't tell her about you; about us." Isabelle's ghost just kept looking at the rising sun.

"What _us_?" her angelic voice shot back. "I wasn't anymore when you took your plane to come back here."

"You were there in spirit." he said in response. "In spirit, you waved to me."

"I did it because I wanted it to mean that you had to walk towards your future and not hold back because of my memory." the voice argued. "I wanted to say I'd found the right someone for you and that person is Theresa, Noah. She's the one you'll live the rest of your life with. She'd been hurt by the same way you were with me. Her husband died a week after she'd miscarried their baby and I died a week after I miscarried our own." Noah just looked at her, unable to speak. He knew she was right. Theresa would be in his life from now on. "But fate is kind and I can tell you that a child has been conceived from the magic moment you two shared last night." Isabelle continued. The sun was now on the verge of fully appear on the horizon. "I need to go now. Go and live a happy life with Theresa. You both deserve it and remember. I'll always be by your side and watching over you two." With those last words, the ghost disappeared and Noah was left alone on the beach, blinded by the sun.

He turned around and looked at Theresa. He knelt down and watched her sleep. "I hope Isabelle is right." he whispered back, silencing the voice. "I deserve to be happy again and Theresa too."

**__**

But we ain't done nothin' wrong

We've just been lonely too long

No, we ain't done nothing' wrong

We've just been lonely too long

Memories of last night kept coming back to him as he watched her peaceful face. Then she asked why he'd left. What he wished to find out of Harmony.

Noah had watched the fire pop sending sparks into the air before answering..

"I was seeking the same thing you did when you looked out at the sea. I was searching for who I really was and what I wanted for my future." he'd said, lying about the real motive. She had smiled slightly.

"Looking back on your life?"

"Exactly."

"Have you find it?"

"No."

"How will you know when you find it?"

"I'll know." He'd said. "And it seems it found me."

"What is it?"

"You." he'd replied before pulling her in his arms.

**__**

Nothing's wrong that can't be cured

With a new love

All you need is someone like me

To be sure of, to be your love

Noah tucked a few stray strands of her hair behind her ear. He let his fingers linger over her cool cheek. The feel of her skin brought the memories back with more force.

He remembered the feel of her soft lips against his. For all that the memories wouldn't let him forget, he couldn't remember who had kissed whom first.

He nearly laughed at the irony.

The events of the night before hit his heart with full force. The memories passed through his carefully destroying the icr walls he'd build around him. They moved like a wind. A wind that, for a night anyway, had allowed him to forget all he'd thought he would never be able to touch. The woman he'd shared the night before with had given him something that was a rarity in his life: a true moment of happiness.

In the arms of a woman he'd always loved, he found freedom from the vows he'd made on his late wife's grave.

In between the fumbling of clothes and passion, he had discovered something that was destined for him all along; the very soul of Theresa Winthrop.

**__**

I'll be waiting

Standing right outside your heart

And I'll be watching

For the slightest sign of a spark

And I'll be here

If you should want to turn to me

Theresa stirred underneath his touch. She rolled on her back, the sheets falling past her bare shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open.

She smiled when she saw him.

"Good morning handsome." she said softly.

Noah returned the smile. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good morning my love." he replied.

**__**

'Cause we ain't done nothin' wrong

We've just been lonely too long

No, we ain't done nothin' wrong

We've just been lonely too long

He'd taken a decision, one he knew he would never turn his back on. He would spend the rest of his life with Theresa and live a long and happy life with their children.

The End.

I hope you liked the story. Please REVIEW!!!!

-Laurie-Lee


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